Effect of low-traffic roads on abundance of ground-nesting birds in sub-Arctic habitats

Pálsdottír, Aldís Erna, Gill, Jennifer A., Pálsson, Snæbjörn, Alves, Jose A., Mendez, Veronica, Þórisson, Böðvar and Gunnarsson, Tomas G. (2025) Effect of low-traffic roads on abundance of ground-nesting birds in sub-Arctic habitats. Journal of Avian Biology, 2025 (6). ISSN 0908-8857

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Abstract

Roads are one of the most widespread anthropogenic structures, and their presence can impact biodiversity in the surrounding landscapes through disturbance and collision risk, particularly when traffic volumes are high. However, the impact of roads with low traffic volumes in open landscapes is much less clear. In the open landscapes of lowland Iceland, road traffic is still relatively low but increasing and the surrounding landscapes support internationally important populations of several breeding wader species. Here we used transect counts, perpendicular to low-traffic (≤ 15,000 vehicles/day) roads across the lowlands of southern Iceland, to quantify variation in densities of ground-nesting birds with distance from roads, and how far from the roads any such effects extended. The total abundance of birds increased significantly by 6% per 50 m interval from roads, and densities within 200 m of roads were ~20% lower than densities between 200 and 400 m from roads. Four species (Whimbrel (Numenius phaeopus), Golden plover (Pluvialis apricaria), Dunlin (Calidris alpina) and Meadow pipit (Anthus pratensis) were found in significantly lower densities closer to roads, while four (Black-tailed godwit (Limosa limosa), Redshank (Tringa totanus), Snipe (Gallinago gallinago) and Redwing (Turdus iliacus)) showed no change with distance to roads. Redwing was found in higher densities and Dunlin in lower densities surrounding roads with higher traffic volume. As approximately 20% of lowland Iceland is within 200 m of roads, the impact of roads on the overall abundance of ground-nesting birds could be substantial. The results show that even relatively low-traffic roads can have a significant impact on adjacent wildlife populations. Road construction along with other anthropogenic structures has been shown to have negative effects on bird abundance, and identifying areas for protection from such developments may be the most effective approach to reduce human impacts on the internationally important wildlife of lowland Iceland.

Item Type:	Article
Additional Information:	Data availability statement: Data are available from the Dryad Digital Repository: https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.qfttdz0w5 (Pálsdóttir et al. 2025b). Funding: This project was funded by the University of Iceland research fund as well as the Science and Research Fund of South-Iceland and The Nature Conservation Fund of Pálmi Jónsson and the Icelandic Road and Coastal administration (1800-659). JAG was supported by NERC grant NE/M012549/1, VM was supported by Rannís (152470-052) and JAA was supported by CESAM via FCT/MCTES (UIDP/50017/2020+UIDB/50017/2020 + LA/P/0094/2020), through national funds.
Faculty \ School:	Faculty of Science > School of Biological Sciences University of East Anglia Research Groups/Centres > Theme - ClimateUEA
UEA Research Groups:	Faculty of Science > Research Centres > Centre for Ecology, Evolution and Conservation Faculty of Science > Research Groups > Organisms and the Environment
Depositing User:	LivePure Connector
Date Deposited:	04 Dec 2025 10:30
Last Modified:	04 Dec 2025 10:30
URI:	https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/id/eprint/101242
DOI:	10.1002/jav.03572

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